Diseases

Quadriplegia

Severe or complete loss of motor function in all four limbs which may result from BRAIN DISEASES; SPINAL CORD DISEASES; PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; or rarely MUSCULAR DISEASES. The locked-in syndrome is characterized by quadriplegia in combination with cranial muscle paralysis. Consciousness is spared and the only retained voluntary motor activity may be limited eye movements. This condition is usually caused by a lesion in the upper BRAIN STEM which injures the descending cortico-spinal and cortico-bulbar tracts.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

Severe or complete loss of motor function in all four limbs which may result from BRAIN DISEASES; SPINAL CORD DISEASES; PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; or rarely MUSCULAR DISEASES. The locked-in syndrome is characterized by quadriplegia in combination with cranial muscle paralysis. Consciousness is spared and the only retained voluntary motor activity may be limited eye movements. This condition is usually caused by a lesion in the upper BRAIN STEM which injures the descending cortico-spinal and cortico-bulbar tracts.

MeSH Record

Classification

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MeSH Record

Synonyms

22 entry terms
  • Tetraplegia
  • Quadriplegias
  • Tetraplegias
  • Flaccid Quadriplegia
  • Flaccid Tetraplegia
  • Paralysis, Spinal, Quadriplegic
  • Quadriparesis
  • Spastic Quadriplegia
  • Spastic Tetraplegia
  • Flaccid Quadriplegias
  • Flaccid Tetraplegias
  • Quadripareses
  • Quadriplegia, Flaccid
  • Quadriplegia, Spastic
  • Quadriplegias, Flaccid
  • Quadriplegias, Spastic
  • Spastic Quadriplegias
  • Spastic Tetraplegias
  • Tetraplegia, Flaccid
  • Tetraplegia, Spastic
  • Tetraplegias, Flaccid
  • Tetraplegias, Spastic

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

35 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, urine, veterinary, virology.

MeSH Record

History Note

1967(1964)

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. C10w.597.622w.760w
  2. C23.888w.592.636w.786w

MeSH Record

NLM Classification

WL 346

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Quadriplegia. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D011782. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D011782
  2. Quadriplegia. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraplegia
  3. Quadriplegia. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q944758